Have I lost my restaurant picking touch?

For our first dinner in San Francisco, we took a chance at Fisherman's Wharf. I mean where else would you expect fine seafood? Most of the places looked very touristy (What else would you expect from a tourist destination?). Unfortunately I listened to the advice of a non-resident and we went to Sabella & LaTorre. About the only good thing about it was the attentive service. All meals came with either clam chowder or shrimp salad. We both chose the salad, and it came as you see, topped with a scoop of tiny mushy bay shrimp, half a cherry tomato and a couple of juliennes of pickled beets.On the good side, I asked for Italian dressing and got an obviously house-made vinaigrette with light herbs and a very good quality red wine vinegar.

Tom ordered "Garlic Shrimp and Crab." It came steamed, and while it looked fairly appetizing, it had been steamed way too long. Both the texture and the taste suffered as a result.

Mine, however, was a the totally big-time major disappointment. I got the special "Seafood Express." It was billed as "Sauteed Crablegs, Prawns and Scallops." I asked what it was sauteed in and the server said "garlic butter sauce." That sounded okay to me, so I went with it. You may not be able to see from the picture, but it came in an umpleasant viscous sauce that tasted neither of butter nor garlic. And there was no taste of seafood in any of the components. Both our meals were $29.95. I've gotten better seafood for way less at Captain D's in Memphis!

Cute and Tasty Baby Heirlooms!

On the way back from the beach, we stopped at the newish Trader Joe's in Nashville. Regrettably, we had no cooler, and in fact almost no space in the car since we were bringing a friend of Tom's daughter back to Memphis.

One of the things I always look for at Trader Joe's is the "Two Buck Chuck" which usually isn't two bucks anymore. Contrary to many an urban legend, these super-value wines began as the result of an oversupply of wine by a valued TJ's supplier. They’ve become the nation’s best-selling wines, not surprising when you consider the combination of low price ($1.99 - $3.49 per bottle, depending on the region) and great taste Charles Shaw wines offer. Depending on the season and the quality of wine available, our selection of Charles Shaw varietals will vary. I try to pick up a bottle, take it home and taste it, and see if I want to buy more. Of course, due to Tennessee laws, they can't sell wine there, but there was still a wonderful selection of fruits and vegetables.

The picture is of a box of heirloom baby tomatoes. I could just manage to squeeze that, and a couple of chutneys, into the back seat of the car. For last night's dinner, I cut them in half, marinated them with some sherry wine vinegar and olive oil, and served them on some greens. YUMMY. I'm guessing something similar might be available at either Whole Foods or Fresh Market, and I intend to go looking for them.

Happy Hour at the Beach

We've just come back from a week in a beach house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. We filled a 5 bedroom house with family so it was a little hectic. Tom and I found a great little place, Cafe 12, just a couple of blocks from our house in Avon, on Cape Hattaras. From 4 PM to 6 PM they had great spicy steamed shrimp for $.19 each. We could have a lovely quiet time and chow down as well. We didn't eat any meals there but they had great looking dishes coming out from the back to a full house about the time we vacated the bar each afternoon.

They don't know how to spell "Elvis" in Philadelphia!

We are so sorry to be missing the Elvis Tribute Week in Memphis!

First Shot from San Diego

I know, really I do, that I promised lots of news and shots from my San Diego trip, generously hosted by my friend Tom Price. But we stayed really busy most of the time, and besides I failed to take the cable to download pictures to the laptop.

We were amused to find that there was a comic book convention: 125,000 comic book lovers flooded the town, many in costume. Here you see me and my friend Merrill Lee Toole (who lives in Los Angeles) with a Mexican doughnut.

We were less amused to find that because of the convention, except for our first night we were not going to be able to stay in the lovely downtown Westin Hotel, since it had been booked for months.

It worked out beautifully though, since Tom found a newly renovated Clarion Hotel right around the corner from San Diego's Little Italy. It was also within walking distance of a lot of the things we wanted to see.

More about the restaurants in Little Italy (and elsewhere) in another post.